just a day :)

and handful of captures from one regular ole day this week…

lu was sooo proud to march around in his boots for the first time!!! and why does he look so grown up here?! rocco said, mom, take a picture of us!! i sure love these buddies. please also note rocco’s painted fingernails [c/o sissy] in addition to the wall paint permanently splattered on his navy corduroys. 😉

rocco took these photos!! haha. i really love when they capture things from their perspective. they’re not always the most flattering, but i picture them looking back one day like, yep that’s mom! 😉 haha. also, i feel like saying yes when kids ask to use the big camera is a really easy way to foster their creativity in that department. there are plenty of times when i don’t want to have to monitor the situation, but i do love saying yes and letting them learn how to use their creative eye!

i honestly still can’t believe i have two boys! i love them and their wild, handsome little selves so so very much, and i know life as they grow together will be fun and give me 900 heart attacks. and truthfully, God was so nice to give me a mini-mommy angel lady maddalena first to help me out! i try to remind her that she’s 7 and it’s my job to be the mom, not hers… but deep down i know that i straight up could not do it all without her. haha. firstborn problems.

rocc took these last 3 photos as well, and gosh. they make me so happy!! pull-ups on the kids’ table and diapers on the floor. little details of baby brother. captures of real, regular life these from his level. 🙂

after a trip to home depot, both boys passed out! that literally never happens, and i just adore their sleeping angel faces. while they snoozed, i went through some of my stacks of stuff, trying to organize, and found little bits of sissy and her love and it just melted me. she’s grown up way too fast, and i try not to indulge in the wallowing of my sentimental heart, but we just miss her a lot these days!

the big kids love to ride bikes after school, and stella makes sure to keep a sharp eye on them! german shepherds really have such wonderful spirits. luca is to the point now where he wants to be with his siblings, doing what they’re doing, so, he also keeps a sharp eye out!

oooh, dinner time is always entertaining! steven had a work trip and was home late that evening, so just me and the bunbuns and the fluffies. 🙂

bedtime snuggles and stories is my favorite time. it’s not always easy, but it’s such a necessary time for us all to decompress and be cozy together. also, my sweet friend, morgan, wrote a beauuutiful children’s book, tales of wonder, and i was so excited to finally get it and read it with my babes! it’s absolutely wonderful, and the illustrations are gorgeous.

so! just a regular little day. i think that was wednesday! and i’m realizing that as life continues move on from the days of baby bliss and speeds along all too quickly toward having another one in school… well, i don’t know that this next chapter of life will be the easiest for me, to say the least. but i’m trying to remember to get back to my creative outlets when i can, to steady me a little! right now, that looks like fixing up the “scary closet” in our house that i’ve ignored for the last 4 years, organizing here and there [organizing is my happy place], and intentionally using my camera more often. i mean, i’m trying to remember a lot of things, to be honest, and it’s easy to get caught up in the minutia of the busy day-to-day… the endless to-dos… the worries and the fears and the failures… but i’m especially trying to remember to let myself off the hook here and there and really soak up my babies before they get too big and busy. 🙂

[linking our favs! my pink camo // go-to leggings, duh // these boots i’ve had for 8 years now! impressive. does that justify getting a second, perhaps light pink, pair yet? 😉 // boys’ henleys, similar, similar // boys’ boots // the big kids are ooobsessed with their “apple watches!” // OH and the most necessary coffee mug on the planet]